Fitness Goals, Food, and Fun!

Today marked a very special day. If you hadn’t noticed, women everywhere wore the color RED to show their support for the recognition and eradication of heart disease and stroke. Through the American Heart Association, women shared stories and educated one another on the facts and prevention strategies against America’s number one killer disease among women.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), “The most common heart disease in the United States is coronary heart disease, which often appears as a heart attack. In 2009, an estimated 785,000 Americans had a new coronary attack, and about 470,000 will have a recurrent attack. About every 25 seconds, an American will have a coronary event, and about one every minute will die from one.” www.cdc.gov/features/heartmonth/

As important as this information is, today’s blog is not about the explanation of heart disease nor is it about how to talk to your doctor if you suspect you have heart disease. Although, if you suffer from shortness of breath, fatigue, cold sweats, nausea, chest, arm, jaw, or even back pain, seek medical attention. Heart disease is preventable…and is the subject of today’s blog.

On January 1, 2010 I created a brief New Year’s resolution blog where I briefly outlined a couple of my 2010 goals and eluded to a few surprises up my sleeve.

Surprise #1: It’s A Doozy!

In Oct. 2009, I had increased my cardiovascular fitness, decreased my percentage of body fat, was muscularly tone and full of energy. I accomplished all this in about four months. By early November, I looked and felt like I was sixteen even though I will be 42 years old this month. As the holidays approached and the cold weather was beginning to blow in, I foolishly began to abandon my training protocol and clean eating habits, which had already become just that—a habit. So why did I mess it up? Habit? All that aerobic fitness, lean muscle mass, increased metabolism, lower body fat content was slowly starting to reverse itself. A few weeks became a month and a month…well, here we are in February. I’m de-conditioned, over weight, and once again tired. Here’s the good news—I know I can get it all back. I’m starting from scratch and at square one.

For the next few months, I will be tracking my fitness goals, my progress, outlining my training routines, my diet, and my personal battles and triumphs with YOU every week. It’s OK if you’re a month ahead of me on your fitness goals—great! Keep it up! However, if you’re stuck in a rut with your fitness goals, or want to boost your cardio/fat blasting work out, or you have plateaued, stay tuned and send me your comments.

Many of my friends have heard me say this mantra, “I’m The Reason! I’m The Reason!!!” and then I kiss my biceps. It started as a joke but it really stuck with me and got me motivated. I’ll end every week with my mantra. Find one for your self that will get you psyched for your work out—it really works.

Today, I’m going to list my three fitness goals. For the next three days I will define my goal and outline the parameters in which I hope to achieve that goal (my workout prescription, my diet, my mind-set). On the fourth day, the challenge begins!

Writing Goals

Short-term goals vs. Long-term goals:

Short-term means pretty immediate and long term is what you expect to accomplish…and maintain!

Your goals should be precisely written but reasonable. Don’t expect to lose 3-5 pounds a week…that’s unreasonable and dangerous.

My long-term goals: (Feb.-May)

Increase VO2 Max (cardio fitness) by 20%

Decrease fat by 8-10 points

Increase overall muscle strength and tone

Join me tomorrow as I discuss what VO2 Max is, and how to achieve an increase!

Note: Always check with your doctor before starting any fitness regimen. A thorough check up can’t hurt and should be done every year. Many of the routines and diet plans that I create for myself may not be suited for you. Ask me questions so I can help you if you have any limitations.